No evidence January 6 committee destroyed records, contrary to online claims | Fact check

Joedy McCreary, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Jan. 6 House committee was caught destroying records

An Aug. 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows clips of several members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Now that the J6 Unselect Committee has been caught destroying their records, let’s see what they said in their own words about destroying evidence during their made-for-TV show trial of President Trump,” reads part of the post.

It was shared more than 300 times in 12 days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on other social media platforms by former President Donald Trump and by Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican.

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Our rating: False

The Republican congressman overseeing the investigation into the committee’s work has not said any records were destroyed, and there have been no reputable reports of such destruction. What Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia did say is that some video recordings are missing, and he does not know what happened to them.

Committee provided transcripts of some interviews, depositions

The issue centers on the whereabouts of some video recordings of interviews and depositions from the committee’s investigation into the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The committee issued its final report in December 2022 before it disbanded.

Loudermilk and Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Mississippi Democrat who chaired the Jan. 6 committee, traded letters in June and July.

Loudermilk wrote that some recordings were not archived or transferred to the Committee on House Administration. Written transcripts of them were provided, however.

House Rule VII outlines the requirements for preserving House records at the end of each two-year term, and a footnote to Thompson’s response to Loudermilk outlines why Thompson says those written transcripts comply with that rule.

The committee was not obligated to archive all video recordings of interviews or depositions that were transcribed, he wrote. He cited guidance from the House clerk’s office that says the information contained in a document – and not necessarily that document’s format – make it a permanent record.

Because those interviews and depositions were transcribed by “nonpartisan, professional official reporters” and were reviewed for errors by both the witnesses and committee staff, those transcripts qualify as the official, permanent records and follow House rules for record-keeping, he wrote.

Fact check: Debunking false narratives about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot two years later

Nowhere in the letter does Loudermilk say the recordings were destroyed. There are no reputable news reports that he made that claim and no evidence of the destruction of the records.

“Whether the missing information has been destroyed, was sent to other entities or is still in the possession of members of Congress from the select committee is uncertain at this time,” Loudermilk said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY.

Adam Comis, a spokesperson for the Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee, called the claim in question “very much false.” Thompson is the ranking member of that panel.

USA TODAY also reached out to the social media users who shared the claim but did not immediately receive responses.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, congressman did not say J6 panel destroyed records | Fact check

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